Best All in One Printer 2019 – HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 Review

The HP
OfficeJet Pro 8720 printer satisfies the printing needs of the most demanding
home users. It boasts automatic duplex printing and high-speed output to
eliminate breaks in productivity waiting for a slow, inefficient printer. It’s
my choice as the best printer for home offices.

This printer uses inkjet technology but rivals high priced laser printers. I purchased this printer for my home based on my experience with HP printers. I didn’t want to invest hundreds more for a laser, so I checked out all my options in my price range. The result was the awesome HP 8720.

The HP 8720
is the best all in one printer 2019, capable of faxing, scanning, copying, and
printing. And printing it does. Specs rate this printer at 30,000 pages per
month. For a home user, this is heavy printing, but the spec provides insight
into its efficiency and durability.

I will
detail the features of this great addition to HP’s line of quality home and
office printers. I’m starting with its Instant Ink option, which I think is the
most important because regardless of other features, without sufficient ink,
high pressure printing jobs and productivity take a huge hit.

Instant Ink
isn’t a printer feature, but an ink replenishment plan offered on select HP
printers. For my needs, it fits perfect into my schedule because when the
printer detects low ink in any of the cartridges, new ink gets ordered
automatically and delivered without missing a beat.

I don’t have to worry about running out of ink; ever. Ink gets delivered based on my settings, and every month I get the first 15 pages free. The pricing for Instant Ink is about $10.00 per month at $.03 per page, for 300 pages per month with free shipping, and unused pages roll over to the next month. It’s an easy decision for me because I need my printer working when I need it.

Pros

Fast Printing

Productivity
includes the ability to print documents quickly and get them handled. Fast
printing is an essential feature of a great printer. My HP 8720 kicks out 22
pages per minute (PPM) in black, and 20 PPM in color. For perspective, I
remember when a printer of mine rated at 8 PPM black per minute was fast!

Consider the
time savings at 22 PPM. Many times, I need to print an eBook which average
around 20-30 pages each (about 8,000 words), and this printer handles it
quickly, in under two minutes. Just a few years ago, an 8,000-word eBook
averaged five minutes or more with an older laser printer.

I should
mention the paper capacity in the HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 review is standard with
250 sheets, and an additional tray is available, bringing the total to 500
sheets. Full ream capacity is becoming more popular with all printers,
especially for those with home offices, and accepts up to legal (8.5 x 14) size
paper.

Even Faster Duplex Printing

The HP 8720
duplex printing function is refined and trouble-free. The early versions of
duplexing in copiers and printers performed average. Paper jams occurred and
frustrated users. Fortunately, HP redesigned the paper transport system in
their printers, and we have a trouble-free duplexer in the 8720.

The duplex
operation starts by bringing in one sheet of paper, printing it, then flipping
the sheet over internally and printing the second page. All the work gets done
internally and produces clean, error-free printed pages in about the same time
as one page!

Duplex Scanning

As a heavy
home user, I often need to scan documents and save them in the Cloud or on my
computer. The system I follow doesn’t allow for file drawers full of paper.
Instead, I keep necessary printed documents in locked file drawers, and others
get scanned and saved off-site.

Duplex scanning is another thoughtful feature provided for us by HP. After using this feature, I discovered how easy my office tasks became, and I didn’t have to keep originals anymore. I scan them, store them, and unless it’s critical I save the original, it gets shredded.

No Paper on the Floor

How many
times have you wished someone could do something about pages ending up on the
floor? They never designed the exit trays of other printers to handle more than
a few sheets at a time, so they flew right out and onto the floor, causing a
confusing mess.

HP decided
enough is enough and redesigned the machine to deliver finished pages toward to
the printer, instead of outwardly. Now, when pages are ready, they’re stacked
and pristine.

Digital Faxing

For a home
user, faxing the old-fashioned way with a soon-to-be obsolete fax machine is
costly and time consuming. Faxing is still in high-demand for hand-signed
documents such as contracts and legal documents. However, technology allows us
to use digital signatures or images of real signatures for these same
documents.

That said,
the need for a clunky, loud, inefficient dinosaur fax machine is quickly
fading. Enter the new age of faxing and save money and time with the HP 8720. I
use the fax option and it’s as simple as scanning my documents and selecting
fax on the UI.

For sending
a fax, your machine needs a phone line (I use VoIP, or voice over IP). I
receive faxes directly to my computer in either TIFF or PDF format. I use PDF
for everything because PDFs are easier to work with.

The printer
comes pre-configured for a standard RJ11 analog phone line, so using a VoIP
service is not an issue. VoIP is much faster than analog, so faxing is quicker
and isn’t prone to frequent communication errors.

Mobile Printing

As a home
user, I don’t have a pressing need to print from my smartphone, but I have used
it occasionally. But, for those who have the need, here’s how it works:

1. Enable
near-field communication (NFC) on your smartphone

2. Set up
NFC on the printer (it’s ready to go by default)

3. Print
docs and photos directly from your smartphone

4. Enjoy
effortless printing

Ultra-efficient Ink

This printer
uses HP952 and HP952XL cartridges and HP956 for about 30% more capacity. The
cost per page of black printing is around $0.02, which exceptional because HP63
cartridges produced only around 190 pages, bringing the price per page to
approximately $0.08!

I’ve already
saved money by enrolling in Instant Ink, bringing the cost per page ever lower.
Also, remember to use only HP ink. The cartridges and printer have chips in
them and disable ink flow if it finds a non-HP cartridge installed. The 8720
has dynamic security enabled, preventing non-HP (aka, fake) cartridges from
damaging the printer.

Years ago,
before I knew better, I tried using one of the off-brand cartridges and
surprised by the poor quality and sloppiness of the print. My advice is use
only HP cartridges for the best quality print and avoid ruining your printer!

User-friendly Interface

Aside from
the obvious quality of the HP8720 and the best all in one printer 2019, is the
easy-to-use interface. HP’s interfaces always seemed hard to use because, while
the information was easy to find, I had to press the arrow keys until I reached
my selection.

The new
interface on the 8720 is all touch, and I can scroll down for sub-menus with
the selections easy to find. It may seem trivial, but when you need to make a
change or a selection, it’s really no different from using your mobile phone.
Nice. Just one more reason the HP 8720 is the best printer for home offices.

Connectivity

The 8720
connects via HP ePrint for wireless printing aside from NFC and accepts
connections from Apple’s AirPrint. It’s also Mopria™ certified and allows
Wireless Direct Printing. In addition, the 8720 has a built-in wireless card
for WiFi 802.11b/g/n. Included is one USB 2.0 port, one host USB, one Ethernet
port and two RJ-11 phone line jacks.

The HP 8720 All-In-One Printer includes many features and each one works. However, nothing is perfect, and my reviews include the good, and the bad.

Cons

Ink Usage

Earlier I
mentioned the PPM, or price per page of around $.002. By itself, that’s a great
price, and it’s the best ink you can buy. However, if you’re a heavy user, the price
adds up fast. If you print an average of 2,000 pages per month, your ink cost
shoots up to around $40.00.

When the
time comes to replace the cartridges, I suggest buying only one at a time.
Total cost to replace all the cartridges is around $100, with the standard,
non-XL versions. Expect to pay more if you choose the XL high-capacity
versions.

I think the
Instant Ink option looks more appealing because you’ll receive the best ink
available, and for less money, keeping the PPM at a reasonable amount.

Takes Up all the Space

The HP 8720 is a large desktop printer. My suggestion is place it on its own table or desk. Its footprint is 19.7 x 17.7 x 13.4 inches and weighs 33 lbs. Add another 3 inches to its length with the exit tray extended. As you can see, it’s large, so you must make accommodations for it.

HP Customer Service

I would like to say HP’s customer service is improving. In my opinion, they are making strides to repair their poor customer service reputation.

I’ve called
them many times over the years before their website library improved. On the
phone, it’s a chance I take talking to a person I can’t understand, or if the
connection drops out. After I explain my question, the answers I get rarely
satisfy my question.

I find myself on the phone longer than expected, and only with a partial answer. My advice is phone them as a last resort. Use their ample information on their website for answers. You’ll find a plethora of help and specific answers there.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 Review Rating – 5/5 Stars

My HP
OfficeJet Pro 8720 review is complete, and it’s my hope the information helps
answer questions you may have. This printer has all the features a home office
or home user needs, including Instant Ink. I think Instant Ink is a great
option, and it softens the financial hit when it’s time to replace the ink at
the most inconvenient time.

From a feature perspective, duplex printing and scanning is a feature I don’t use every day, but when I need it, I’m glad it’s there. So far, this printer is trouble-free and performs better than expected. That said, I recommend the HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 for home users, and gladly award it five out of five stars!

I am 81 years old and doing my family story (not history) and just purchased the HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 a couple weeks ago. I love it except I can’t figure out why it only prints in extra large print that goes right off the page regardless of the program I use. I’ve wasted a tremendous amount of paper trying to figure it out. Help!
Alice C.

Hello Alice. I’ll try to keep this simple, but you may want to ask someone you know for help. You are most likely having issues because of your print settings.

When you are trying to print, a print settings window should open. Look for the printing size settings. It’s probably set to 100% or full size. You want to change that setting to “fit to page.” I hope this helps!

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